New Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) in place July 1

Please share this with anyone in your department who sends email communications

As of July 1, the new Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) is in effect. Its primary purpose is to prohibit the sending of spam (i.e. unwanted Commercial Electronic Messages). At UBC, CASL does not apply to messages that are solely related to the core activities of the University because these activities are not “commercial” in nature. It also does not apply to messages sent by the University for the primary purpose of raising funds. However, as what constitutes a “commercial” message may not be understood by everyone, UBC employees should review the resources available at the University Counsel website on CASL: http://universitycounsel.ubc.ca/access-and-privacy/casl/

UBC sends numerous electronic messages on a wide variety of issues, but fortunately the CASL does not apply to most of these messages. Any messages that are purely informational, or relate exclusively to the “core activities” of UBC, do not fall under the scope of the CASL because they are not “commercial” in nature. Examples of “core activities” that are exempt from the CASL are student recruitment, teaching, and research. Also, messages sent for the primary purpose of raising funds for UBC are not subject to most of the requirements in the CASL. Therefore, it is not necessary for you to ask for consent to send these types of messages.

Of course, UBC is not entirely exempt from the CASL. Some of UBC’s electronic messages do contain commercial content that is subject to the CASL, such as advertisements for goods and services provided by third parties. Therefore, it is important for you to review your electronic messages to determine whether any of them may be subject to this legislation. Please refer to the informational materials posted on the University Counsel web site here: http://universitycounsel.ubc.ca/access-and-privacy/casl/. If you have questions after you have reviewed these materials, you should contact the Access and Privacy Manager, who is available via e-mail at access.and.privacy@ubc.ca.